The southern cross championships will be held in the ACT as part of the Oceania carnival which runs from 26 September to 4 October 2026.
The specific School’s championship events are:
Sprint Championship – 29 September
Individual Long Championship – 30 September
Relay Championship – 1 October
Management team
The management team includes :
Managers : Susy Carryer, Shaun Cantwell, Karla Connor
Coaches: Michael Croxford, Tane Cambridge, Jakob Knoef

New to the SX team this year:
Karla is new to the management team, she shares her journey into orienteering.


Karla Connor  |  Auckland Orienteering Club 

Q1. How did you start orienteering? 
I was introduced to the world of orienteering when my Year 7 son came home and told me he’d entered an event with his friend, and well, that was that. It’s quickly become the sport we plan our school holiday trips around now.

Q2. What is your experience in the orienteering world?
I’ve done exactly one course. It was when my eldest son Finley planned a course and we were doing a walk through together, there were no controls even out, and I still managed to miss punch. So my expertise is definitely not in the orienteering itself! Other than that as mum to Finley and Dexter I am a very experience sideline supporter of orienteering. 

Q3. Favourite things about orienteering
I love the diversity of locations that orienteering takes you to, getting to see so many areas I’d never otherwise get to visit. But my favourite area of orienteering is the people, the community.

Q4. What you’ll enjoy about being in the team
I’m an Event Manager in the real world, so logistics and project management are my bread and butter. I work with Event Revolution delivering events for anywhere from 70 to 2,500 people, coordinating suppliers, sponsors, budgets, entertainers and delegates all at once. Keeping a touring team’s flights, accommodation, uniforms, dietary needs and transfers running smoothly isn’t so different, just with far more enthusiastic, muddy company. In an earlier career I worked with an organisation focused on high performance thinking and the psychology of success, so I bring some of that background with me too.

I got to help out at the NZ Camp in December last year, which was a great chance to meet many of the athletes who are part of this squad. I helped out at the development camp in Brisbane last year too, so I’ve got a bit of an idea of what we’re in for, just a different climate this year, not so hot!

People who know me would call me bubbly and pretty relentlessly glass-half-full, and I think that rubs off on those around me. What I’ll enjoy most is watching the athletes grow in confidence over the trip with their ability and their friendships, and making sure everything runs smoothly enough behind the scenes that everyone can just focus on having a great time and getting some runs they are proud of on the board. I can’t wait to see the team unleashed on Canberra.

And if you spot a lady at the arena wearing orienteering earrings, that’s probably me. I normally have a different set for each day of an event, all 3D-printed for me by Finley, so with the Aussie event running longer than usual, I’m going to need a few extra sets to make it through all the days!